AFRICA

Beni, DR Congo | AFP | The threatened Virunga National Park in DR Congo announced on Thursday it has banned the felling of trees throughout the nature reserve. “The management of the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature wishes to bring to the attention of the resident of Beni …

Washington, United States | AFP | A comprehensive probe into last year’s deadly attack on US and local forces in Niger uncovered a series of avoidable blunders leading up to the assault, the Pentagon said Thursday. Four American soldiers and four members of Nigerien partner forces were killed in the …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s football federation says a World Cup warm-up match will be cancelled if doctors advise it, after a fresh outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Super Eagles are due to play DR Congo in a friendly on May 28 in Nigeria’s …

Port Louis, Mauritius | AFP | A new generation of 30-somethings with brilliant careers, feminist convictions and, above all, confidence, are spearheading an assault on African media, using social networks as a launchpad. “I do not understand what ‘no’ means,” Peace Hyde, one of the most high-profile members of this …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  At least 27 people died after a dam burst in southern Kenya, sweeping away their homes while many of them were asleep, police said Thursday. After a severe drought, weeks of torrential rains in Kenya have led to flooding and mudslides that have left 159 …

Beira, Mozambique | AFP | Afonso Dhlakama lived in a secret location and led armed fighters against the Mozambique government — but on Wednesday he was given an official memorial service and praised by the president. He died of a suspected heart attack last week among his Renamo troops in …

Maiduguri, Nigeria | AFP | Revitalising Lake Chad will stop Boko Haram from gaining a long-term foothold in the region, experts said on Wednesday, as four countries wrapped up talks aimed at ending in the conflict. The insurgency began in 2009 and has killed at least 20,000 in northeast Nigeria …

Accra, Ghana | AFP | Four judges accused of taking bribes in Ghana have been suspended, the presidency announced Wednesday, in the latest fallout from a graft scandal rocking the country’s judiciary. President Nana Akufo-Addo suspended the high court judges after a disciplinary committee launched a case against them. The …

Cotonou, Benin | AFP | Benin opposition politician Sebastien Ajavon on Wednesday took the country’s government to court, demanding nearly $990 million in damages after a string of arrests and prosecutions. One of the failed presidential candidate’s four lawyers, Julien Bensimhon, told the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | The Nigerian government on Wednesday said it was acting to prevent the spread of Ebola from Democratic Republic of Congo where an outbreak of the disease has killed 17 people. The federal government had put in place an emergency programme to monitor all border activity …